The present invention relates to an electrical card connector, and particularly to an electrical card connector having a grounding plate securely mounted to a header thereof.
As technology progresses, computers are becoming increasingly compact while the functions thereof are becoming more complicated. The electrical card is particularly used in notebook computers to extend memory and input/output functions of the computer. In general, current electrical cards are constructed in accordance with the standard of PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association). A shielding shell is positioned around an engaging section of the electrical card and the electrical card connector to prevent electromagnetic interference from adversely affecting signal transmission. A conventional electrical card connector has a metal shell for contacting a spring plate to conduct static electricity to ground.
Referring to FIG. 1, a grounding plate 6 of a conventional electrical card connector is attached to a header 7 by engagement between locking plates 61,62,63 and receiving holes 71,72,73 respectively. However, the engaging force between locking plates 61,62,63 and receiving holes 71,72,73 is not large enough to provide a reliable connection. After repeated insertions and withdrawals of a card, the grounding plate 6 will become shiftable from its fixed position whereby grounding tabs 64 of the grounding plate 6 cannot reliably contact with grounding dimples of a card (not shown) inserted into the connection. Related inventions are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,161,989; 5,288,274; and 5,399,105.